Segwit2x Called Off, Bitcoin Will Not Hardfork

“Our goal has always been a smooth upgrade for Bitcoin. Although we strongly believe in the need for a larger blocksize, there is something we believe is even more important: keeping the community together.

Unfortunately, it is clear that we have not built sufficient consensus for a clean blocksize upgrade at this time. Continuing on the current path could divide the community and be a setback to Bitcoin’s growth. This was never the goal of Segwit2x… we are suspending our plans for the upcoming 2MB upgrade.”

Jeff Garzik, lead developer of the segwit2x client, BTC1, stated:

“Btc1 project will continue the stated mission — a “Fedora for Bitcoin” — continuing as an alternate implementation, that supports Bitcoin, as well as other chains such as Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and other Bitcoin-family chains.”

“When deciding to decouple the segwit and 2MB upgrade, Charlie Shrem assured me that he would make sure this is not the outcome. Proof of Shrem is not a very solid consensus mechanism.”

Matt Corallo, a former Blockstream developer, now at ChainCode Labs, said:

“Lets take Segwit2x’s failure as a learning experience – Bitcoin’s community is strong, and needs to broadly support any changes to Bitcoin’s consensus rules. Future proposals must start by soliciting broad community feedback, not just an afterthought.”

The decision to call off segwit2x was unexpected without any hints given prior to its announcement just minutes ago. Bitcoin’s price initially jumped:

Bitcoin’s price jumps on the news that segwit2x has been called off.

And then, soon after, it sort of crashed:

Bitcoin’s price dives as segwit2x is called off.

Most of bitcoin’s prominent businesses agreed back in May 2017 to upgrade the bitcoin network through segwit with a base blocksize increase (2x) to follow three months later.

However, as soon as segwit was locked-in, segwit2x was declared cancelled by Blockstream with a campaign then beginning against the base size increase.

That appears to have succeeded as far as the main bitcoin chain is concerned, with some big blockers forking off to their own Bitcoin Cash chain this August 1st 2017.

The ecosystem was preparing for another fork on November 16th, the segwit2x fork, but this last minute announcement now means that is not going ahead.

Bitcoin, therefore, will likely follow the settlement system, with the three years long debate now seemingly settled as all visions have their own projects to follow their own plans and implementations.

That may mean on-chain congestion will continue in bitcoin, as will high fees, with the Lightning Network now expected, as well as signature compression to add more space, potentially new sidechains, as the Bitcoin Core roadmap prevails.

As the mailing list might be under heavy demand and may not load for some we quote the full statement below:

“The Segwit2x effort began in May with a simple purpose: to increase the blocksize and improve Bitcoin scalability. At the time, the Bitcoin community was in crisis after nearly 3 years of heavy debate, and consensus for Segwit seemed like a distant mirage with only 30% support among miners. Segwit2x found its first success in August, as it broke the deadlock and quickly led to Segwit’s successful activation. Since that time, the team shifted its efforts to phase two of the project – a 2MB blocksize increase.

Our goal has always been a smooth upgrade for Bitcoin. Although we strongly believe in the need for a larger blocksize, there is something we believe is even more important: keeping the community together. Unfortunately, it is clear that we have not built sufficient consensus for a clean blocksize upgrade at this time. Continuing on the current path could divide the community and be a setback to Bitcoin’s growth. This was never the goal of Segwit2x.

As fees rise on the blockchain, we believe it will eventually become obvious that on-chain capacity increases are necessary. When that happens, we hope the community will come together and find a solution, possibly with a blocksize increase. Until then, we are suspending our plans for the upcoming 2MB upgrade.

We want to thank everyone that contributed constructively to Segwit2x, whether you were in favor or against. Your efforts are what makes Bitcoin great. Bitcoin remains the greatest form of money mankind has ever seen, and we remain dedicated to protecting and fostering its growth worldwide.